The present invention is related to beverage dispensers, and more particularly to a switching module for beverage dispensers.
A beverage dispensing system such as one commercially available from the assignee herein includes a flow path from a source of a beverage to a dispensing nozzle. In such a system, an operator can cause a mixed beverage to be drawn from its source or sources and be delivered to a cup or a glass. The flow path in such a dispensing system typically includes one or more switching elements that use a solenoid valve to control the flow of the beverage from its source to its destination. FIG. 1 shows a part of such a solenoid valve assembly 10. As shown in FIG. 1, such a solenoid valve assembly 10 may include a commercially available solenoid valve 12 that is fitted or screwed into a base 14. The base 14 is connected with an inlet conduit 16 and an outlet conduit 18 to deliver fluid to and from the solenoid valve 12. The base can also include flow passages. FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the solenoid valve assembly 10 of FIG. 1.
A person skilled in the art can appreciate that a typical beverage dispensing system can have several such solenoid valve assemblies. As such, the beverage dispensing system may require custom-built components so as to accommodate the particular number of solenoid valve assemblies used in the beverage dispensing system. Such custom-built components need to be dimensioned and shaped to connect with other elements of the beverage dispensing circuit. A commercial beverage dispensing system can easily have ten or more different beverages, requiring at least 10 or more solenoid valves assemblies.
FIG. 3 shows a simplified diagram of a known solenoid-valve block assembly 20. The block assembly 20 shown can accommodate ten solenoid valves 12. Such a block assembly 20 can be machined from an acrylic block. As shown, the block assembly 20 has 10 inlet ports 24 that are connected with an associated solenoid valve 12 and 10 associated outlet ports (not shown). The upper surface 26 of the block assembly 20 is machined to receive the solenoid valves 12. O-rings are used to provide for appropriate sealing at the ports and at the solenoid receiving wells. As shown, the wells 28 are offset from one-another to allow for a more compact block assembly 20 construction. The solenoid block assembly 20 of FIG. 3 is advantageous as compared to the use of multiple solenoid valve assemblies 10 of FIG. 1 in that one block assembly 20 is used as a part of a switching assembly for ten solenoid valves 12. However, the block assembly 20 itself is a custom-machined part that is time consuming to produce. Furthermore, damage in any of the many inlet ports 24, outlet ports, or wells 28 could render the entire part unusable. In addition, the use of a block assembly 20 requires separately designed block assemblies for use in beverage systems having different numbers of fluid circuits, thereby causing additional expense.
Thus, there is therefore a need for a switching module that does not suffer from the above shortcomings.